Under Riverrun 6

The hoofbeats clattered as Gryn unfolded the map in his saddle. Judging by the time, Dick Crabb and Ser Mason's "grain-buying" party was not far from Acorn Hall, in the southwest of the Riverlands. Perhaps... negotiations had already begun.

Gryn's gaze slowly swept across the broad plains between the Gods Eye and the Three Forks, considering which places should be the first to grant more landed knights.

"Lord Gryn, they've come to greet you."

Ahead lay a ruined village being repaired with gathered refugees as its new inhabitants. Seeing the new villagers gather for the lord they had sworn themselves to, Ser Brienne's voice carried a rare trace of excitement.

Gryn looked into the distance, put away the map, and lightly nudged his horse's flanks. "Pick up the pace."

Dense hoofbeats rang out in waves as the Swamp Marigold Banner fluttered beneath the blazing sun. More than a hundred villagers fell to their knees before their new protector.

Following tradition, Gryn found a somewhat spacious patch of open ground and listened to the villagers' petitions.

To displaced refugees, soldiers and bandits were both savage villains, while the Swamp Marigold Banner was unfamiliar.

To calm the unsettled people as quickly as possible, Lord Gryn had no choice but to handle matters personally.

Gryn dealt with or arranged every trivial petition with great patience. When it was over, he announced that he would gift the village a strong ox for plowing.

Then came two "performances."

The first was the execution of captured bandits before the villagers by an executioner, demonstrating the existence of the kingdom's laws and Crabb justice.

The other was Lord Gryn displaying his unerring archery before them, showing that their new protector possessed the strength to defend them.

At last, Gryn casually selected several farmhouses and inspected the crude